1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates in general to wireless communication devices and in particular to direct communication between wireless communication devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional methods for establishing peer-to-peer (P2P) communication between two wireless communication devices or user equipment (UE) are autonomously executed by the devices. P2P communication can be provided using Bluetooth and WiFi Direct as well as other close range communication technologies. In the WiFi Direct case, for example, devices execute discovery procedures to discover other devices in close proximity and, when other devices are discovered, the devices execute procedures for forming a P2P group. In addition, at least one device assigns IP addresses to each device in the P2P group. All these procedures are autonomously executed by the P2P devices without the network being able to control these procedures and/or control the establishment of P2P groups in any way. As a result, the network is unable to control or manage the establishment of P2P groups and/or charge a subscriber for providing or facilitating direct communication services.